Category: G. O. O. D.

Staying Prepared at All Times, by Christian Souljer — September

As I remember my personal 9-11-01 experience, I am reminded that it is smart to always be prepared for the unexpected. Many of us have some kind of story regarding that day in September of 2001. I was out bow hunting about 200 miles from home. One of the hunting party had a radio and heard the news. When we got back to camp from the morning hunt, that person excitedly proclaimed, “There have been several plane attacks on the world trade centers and the Pentagon!” We determined that a new type of war had begun. We did not know …


Two Letters Re: Get Out of Dodge Considerations

Mr. Rawles, I know this is not really any kind of revelation, but it seems worth saying again. If you can’t live at your retreat, have a loaded bug out trailer or pre-position a substantial amount of provisions at your retreat. Thus, you put yourself in a far superior position. My family decided to take a spur-of-the-moment camping trip last weekend. The whole time I was getting ready, I was thinking “What if this were a bug out situation?”. Although I have most of the equipment conveniently situated in my basement, it took me almost 3 hours to load the …


Two Letters Re: “Ural” Russian Motorcycles with Sidecars

Jim, I have been riding BMW motorcycles for about 10 years. I have seen a few of those Urals around, and every one with first hand knowledge says they are not as dependable as the Beemers. But– the design is pretty simple, and they are not hard to work on. My Beemer has 86 K miles on it, and I had to replace a starter, and a coil. That’s it. I guess the big question with the Ural is, does it have points ignition, or electronic? This would be my first concern, now. I have been entertaining the idea of …


Letter Re: “Ural” Russian Motorcycles with Sidecars

Jim, I saw a great motorcycle here in North Idaho that I thought would be of interest to the readers of SurvivalBlog. I spotted a fellow gassing up a motorcycle with a sidecar and I decided to take a quick look. It looked like an excellent restored WW2 era motorcycle, something that conjured up thoughts of Steve McQueen in the movie ‘The Great Escape‘. I found out though that this bike was in fact brand new, a Russian copy of the German BMW motorcycle–www.imz-ural.com for lots of info. The paint scheme was Camouflage and the [Ural Patrol model’s] very handy …


Letter Re: Retreat Locale Recommendations in Texas

Dear Mr. Rawles, In answer to your query, let me share a few observations: 1. Gillespie and Kerr Counties are a paradise. The Guadalupe is a good river, and there is a lot of fertile and secluded canyon-bottom where folk can live their lives in peace. Those secluded canyons are frequently bordered by godless rocky outcrops. The other good thing about that part of the world is that the Germans that populate the area don’t tolerate lawlessness. Period. Fredericksburg in Gillespie is so German that municipal politics is still Protestant-Catholic. Kerville is little different. New Braunfels is similar, but is …


Letter Re: Packing Priority and Vehicle Signs to Facilitate G.O.O.D.

I have read your blog as well as your book “Patriots” for a long time now, along with other web sites and articles. I find great information, some of which I must print out and save. I started an accordion folder with printouts, sorted by type, such as…food, shelter, skills, firepower, etc. Can’t leave these on a computer since retrieval without electricity would be impossible. I believe the more probable catastrophe will be an economic one, possibly related to terrorist activities and have planned accordingly. I have my small retreat, eight acres in the North Georgia mountains, four acres in …


Letter Re: Push or Pull Carts For All-Terrain Hauling

James: Regarding Redmist’s suggestion to use closed-cell polyurethane foam tires, those tires add a bit of weight, and often you are trying to keep the weight down on the load, Slime® sealant is cheap light weight insurance inside your tires, just ask any hardcore ATV rider and they will tell you so. I happen to be in the process of making a hand cart for hauling waterfowl decoys into fields where taking a truck is not allowed, a axle, hubs, wheels and tires from a completely trashed ATV, two pillow block bearings and some serious thought and welding and I’ll …



Letter Re: Railroads Tracks and Right of Ways as Bug-Out Routes

Sir: I thought that I would put in my 2 cents on accessing property with a bolt cutter. If you need to go through a gate don’t cut the lock unless there is no other alternative! Snipping a link out of the chain next to the lock and allowing the lock owner to relock the gate next time they come by is much more forgivable than making them run in and get a new lock cut keys and distribute keys to whoever needs them. Many times we will snip out a link and put our own lock on the chain …


Two Letters Re: Railroads Tracks and Right of Ways as Bug-Out Routes

JWR: Please pass on to Larry in Kansas and anyone else interested that they need to look well ahead of time at any railroad beds as a bug out route. Here in Michigan the railroads have closed off all the service roads beside the tracks. Some are simply chained and easily defeated with bolt cutters, but other are blocked with ties and high mounds of gravel. My primary escape route has an emergency “go around” for a choke point that is active railroad bed. It will be hairy, but my Ford Ranger pickup will be able to make the trip. …


Letter Re: Railroads Tracks and Right of Ways as Bug-Out Routes

Jim, Just came across a site showing 1948 Rand McNally Railroad Maps of different states in the U.S. I’m always looking for alternate routes of travel around choke points and finally found something of possible use. Granted it’s 1948, however, I think there are still a lot of tracks out there. Some I know have been removed but have been turned into hiking trails and such. http://trains.rockycrater.org/pfmsig/atlas.php Hope this is useful. – Larry in Kansas


Letter Re: Preparedness Lessons Learned from The K.T. Ordnance BATFE Raid

Jim, I thought I would give you an up-date on my raid. First, I’m not in jail, nor have I been charged with any crime. Everything that can be written has been written at this time.[JWR Adds: For example, see the discussions at the AR15.com Forums, at LibertyPost.org, 1911Forum.com, et cetera. ] In retrospect, there are some things I should have done, but that I didn’t. (I pooh-poohed some of your preparedness ideas, shame on me. Learn from my mistakes.) 1) Did not stash my extra arms and ammo, and now I don’t have them. 2) Should not have been …


Letter From Michael Z. Williamson Re: An EMT’s Advice on BOBs

Dear Jim, I found a link from a fellow writer, who’s a former Naval officer, Ph.D. and EMT as well. It has good advice on bail out bags and some one-liners on survival. While not specifically survival oriented, I also enjoyed some of his astute observations of reality versus entertainment. – Michael Z. Williamson


Letter From Vic at Safecastle Re: SurvivalBlog Group Buy on Folding Paratrooper Bikes

James: I just listed the ultimate prepper bike in my store–the Montague Paratrooper–developed in conjunction with DARPA for the military, and only recently made available in the civilian marketplace. See my eBay store item listing. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) is is $695. The minimum advertised price (MAP) is $645. Our special SurvivalBlog-only price is much lower for a very limited time. Our limited-time, group-buy discounted price cannot be advertised. (Due to a MAP contractual agreement.) Anyone interested should e-mail me and I’ll provide the special price: jcrefuge@safecastle.net. The bike comes in either an 18 inch or 20 inch …


Letter Re: East Coast WTSHTF: You Can’t Get There From Here

Sir: In my role as “the good citizen” and amateur radio operator, I have just competed a state sponsored FEMA “Incident Command System” class (IC-700). My worst concerns regarding bugging out from my coastal home in Connecticut were confirmed at that class. Here in Connecticut we have no mass evacuation routes available or realistic plans in place to deal with a catastrophic scenario resulting in the exiting of the people who live in this area. You see we already have quite an impressive rush hour traffic pattern which as gotten geometrically worse over the past 30 years. Back in 1976, …